


Radical Weasleys

by MsAngelAdorer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Gen, House-Elf Rights (Harry Potter), Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Muggle Rights, Politics, Weasley Family-centric (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 04:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsAngelAdorer/pseuds/MsAngelAdorer
Summary: Minor AU: A series of oneshots set in a world where the reason that Arthur Weasley is disrespected for his love of Muggles and Muggle rights also means he has other radical political views. Each chapter focuses on how this influences different members of the family.
Kudos: 5





	Radical Weasleys

**Arthur**

He had come into his views overtime. It wasn't that he'd woken up one day and decided that the Ministry had too much power, that Muggles were treated barely better than animals, that wizards owed magical creatures and part-humans far more rights, and that capitalism was still an issue even with a near post-scarcity economy.

As a Hogwarts student he had had his eyes opened to just how different the Muggle and wizarding societies really were. His father had told him some things (Mother wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, having grown up in the conservative Black family) but actually meeting other students from Muggle households or half-bloods who'd attended Muggle school was illuminating. There was a whole other side of history that Hogwarts mostly ignored, along with philosophy, poetry, literature, technology, etcetera. He signed up for Muggle Studies in his third year, taking it all the way to N. E. W. T. level, and even that class was far too simple to him. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the Muggles.

He got lucky, the summer after his fourth year, when Mum and Dad finally let him stay over at a Muggleborn friend's house for two weeks. He tried to not come off too eager but wound up spending half his time conversing with the parents, they having been just as curious about wizards, so they exchanged information readily. He got introduced to the Muggle side of politics as well. It wasn't that he didn't know about the basic things, of course—oil as a resource, the Prime Minister's identity, the different borders. But it turned out that there were all sorts of radical politics that were below the surface—gay liberation, women's liberation, socialism.

The first two were unnecessary in the wizarding world (or, as he later learned, were still necessary but wizarding society was ahead of Muggles on these issues, which made arguing for progress harder) but socialism was something he was curious about. From his reading, the subject had been brought up in wizarding Britain but had never really caught on in the same way since most work was much easier with magic.

"I don't know if I'm a socialist, necessarily," the mother said. "But I hear about the idea of workplaces having more democracy and that sounds nice."

"I'm not an expert on theory," the father added. Then he gave some book recommendations for Arthur.

This proved to be one of the most important conversations of his life.

He supposed in his youth he was far too annoying, which was why it wasn't until his sixth year that he finally got closer to Molly. Ah, Molly. He'd discovered her beauty in their fourth year and they were casual friends but she often thought him too zealous. "Muggles this, worker's councils that," she recalled after their first son's birth. "It took you getting older that I actually was willing to hear you out."

Arthur and Molly started dating that year and stayed together essentially for the rest of their lives. They had their fights but at the end of the day, they would always be there for each other.

For several years he calmed down in his views. He still had them (after reading up on racial capitalism he'd been very angry that House Elf slavery was still legal in the U. K., unlike some other countries) but no longer felt the need to rant unless prompted. Over time, however, he grew more cynical. Working at the Ministry gave him the chance to help Muggles as best as he could but he was beginning to understand why some others preferred revolution to incremental progress. Day after day he saw very little change throughout the wizarding world. Squibs had marched for their rights in his younger years yet even by the nineties they essentially had zero. House Elves still could be bought and sold (and no matter how much people said it was in their nature, knowledge of how their race operated in countries like the USA proved it was cultural, not innate). It made him a bit uneasy that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was the biggest and most important Department in the Ministry, which said a lot about their government's priorities. And while he'd grown up knowing that Memory Charms were necessary to maintain secrecy, it bothered him more and more over time. What was truly different about this and the Imperius Curse? Sure, one involved making you do something but they both took away consent. It made him feel sick.

Arthur had once hoped that after Voldemort (You Know Who) was defeated, wizarding Britain would finally be ready for the change they had needed for some time. Yet far too many of his friends and colleagues seemed ready to put their heads in the sand and pretend like there'd been no problems in the first place. Voldemort hadn't arisen from nowhere—he'd radicalised younger wizards like Severus Snape while also recruiting from old families like the Malfoys. The only way he could've had them on his side was if these people and their awful views had been left alone. And sadly they had. Arthur had great respect for Albus Dumbledore (after all, he hired a Squib, half-giant, paid and offered unionization to House Elves who wanted it, and he banned corporal punishment in the school) but he could've done a better job regarding students in Slytherin House. While he liked to think he was above it all, he always felt relief when none of his children got Sorted there, not even ambitious Percy. He'd always love them but he didn't want them anywhere near such a toxic environment.

It was in the days after Millicent Bagnold was replaced as Minister for Magic with Cornelius Fudge when Arthur had to admit that the change he craved was probably not coming anytime soon. Oh, Fudge put up a good front, but he gave himself away as just another man who lived in a nonexistent nostalgic past. He'd been elected entirely due to people (wizards, as most part-humans or nonhumans did not have voting rights) wanting to pretend like their Dark Lord problem had been a once a lifetime issue and now it was time to return to normal life. Arthur at the time had developed his current reputation for being an outspoken advocate for non-wizards, though most famous for Muggles. He sometimes took on a persona of an ignorant man who loved Muggle technology only and knew very little about them otherwise, as that would attract too much attention. It didn't escape his notice that despite being considered an excellent worker he was always passed over for promotion. His political views were too much it seemed.

Arthur regretted only one thing: He hadn't gotten through to Percy. His son had agreed that there was something profoundly wrong that even in a world with magic there was still poverty. Unfortunately, he had failed to convince him that the reason for that was due to his views. Percy, being young and naive, had assumed it was because Arthur had simply not been ambitious enough, hadn't played the game long enough to gather power. Oh, he'd tried that but at the end of the day he never had a shot, having been born part of the "blood traitor Weasleys."

In the end, he was proud of what he'd accomplished. Just knowing the Muggle Protection Act had made it through his Department despite the backlash was validating. But his crowning achievement was having raised seven beautiful and intelligent children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just a stupid idea I had a few weeks ago. Harry Potter was written through Rowling's liberal lens, so I wondered what it would be like to have a more leftist lens instead. And I love the Weasleys (except the twins but I still have a good chapter for them in mind) so I thought it made sense to write about them since they're always fairly progressive in the books.
> 
> And I do not in any way shape or form endorse Rowling's politics (trans rights are human rights and so on).


End file.
